Future's Wooden: Sweden’s plan for the world’s largest wooden city

We have all heard about the construction of the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper, but what about an entire city made of wood? Plans are afoot for a wooden city in Sweden and if things go as planned, its construction will begin in 2025 and it will be completed by 2027.

We can’t help but be excited about this new project and we found out what one can expect if you travel to Stockholm Wood City, once completed.

Inside Stockholm Wood City

The wooden city, titled Stockholm Wood City, is the brainchild of Danish studio Henning Larsen and Swedish firm White Arkitekter. The development will cover 250,000 square metres, and as per real estate developer Atrium Ljungberg, it will be the world’s largest “wooden city”.

Annica Anas, CEO of Atrium Ljungberg, was quoted as saying, “We are proud to introduce Stockholm Wood City. This is not only an important step for us as a company, but a historic milestone for Swedish innovation capability. Stockholm Wood City manifests our future.”

The city, which is to be built in Sickla, will include a variety of construction types and is expected to bring 7,000 new offices and 2,000 new housing units to the area, along with real estate options for stores and restaurants. The development will span 25 blocks.

The people behind the city said that all of the wood being used in the project will be fire-proofed mass timber and that the overall development will display the “serenity of a forest” and natural elements will also be part of the buildings.

“We sought to create an urban environment infused with the serenity of a forest, resulting in a dense, open space that bears the distinctively minimalistic and functional aesthetic of Scandinavian design,” Atrium Ljungberg told architectural magazine, Dezeen.

The price tag that comes with developing such a city, however, is no child’s play. A report by The Economist pegged the cost of this project as 12 billion krona ($1.4 billion or Rs 11,486 crore).

Not the sole wooden project

While Stockholm Wood City will be the largest ‘wood city’ when completed, it’s not the only construction in wood. Switzerland is going to be home to the world’s tallest timber residential building, surpassing the 280-foot-tall Mjøstårnet tower in the Norwegian town of Brumunddal.

There’s also a Toronto waterfront project that will feature designs by Adjaye Architects, Alison Brooks Architects and Henning Larsen.

In Asia, Singapore holds the honour of housing the largest timber building – Gaia. Sprawling across 43,500 square metres, the May 2023 construction was built at a cost of 125 million Singapore dollars. Its exposed timber frame is free from cladding or paint, a design decision that celebrates natural materials while giving visitors the feeling of walking between trees.

A global trend

But why are so many constructions now coming up in wood? Several designers and architects are looking at wood in order to become more sustainable and eco-friendly. Experts note that wooden buildings have a smaller carbon footprint than regular constructions. In fact, according to consulting firm McKinsey, real estate has a massive carbon footprint, and is responsible for just under 40 per cent of global emissions.

A study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has predicted that a global boom in wood buildings could sequester up to 700 million tonnes of carbon each year.

Additionally, timber frames act as carbon banks for the environment. Depending on the size of a house, a timber frame will store hundreds of tonnes of carbon for the life of it. This helps homes meet green building guidelines.

Wooden buildings are also believed to be better for personal health and studies have shown they “provide better air quality, reduce stress, increase productivity, and store carbon dioxide throughout the time they are in use.”

Another advantage of wood as a building material is that it is much lighter than concrete. Wood weighs only about a fifth of the weight of the same volume of concrete and does not need to be dried as part of the production process like concrete. This makes it cheaper and easier to transport and means lighter foundations can be used. As wood is lighter, existing buildings can also be extended more easily by one or more floors, which can increase an existing building’s floor space and yield.

Another benefit of a wooden construction is that it will not be as noisy as it would be if the town were built from concrete and bricks. This makes wooden buildings particularly suitable for urban redevelopment in general, since putting them up is less likely to annoy the neighbours.

And in times when earthquakes are becoming more common, wooden buildings are more preferable as they can absorb shocks better than bricks and concrete.

But for all its advantages, there are some who fear the risk of fire. However, in the case of Stockholm Wood City, the buildings will be built with engineered timber – that burns at a relatively slow and predictable rate, making it safer than many conventional steel structures.

With inputs from agencies

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